Wisteria

Fresh picks for a New Year

January 12, 2017

Happy New Year readers! Wow – can’t believe we are already 1/3 of the way into January! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday break – I know I did. A little downtime is so good for the soul, isn’t it? And my boys must be approaching the teen years because they were sleeping in like they never have before! I remember many a cold winter Sunday morning at 5:30 am trying to entertain a toddler when it was still pitch black outside. (Hang in there moms of little early risers! Your time will come!)

Anyway, one of the (few) things I love about January are all the new product launches by my favorite stores and companies. Everyone seems to want to turn over a new leaf in the New Year. I thought I’d share a few new things that have caught my eye from some of my favorite sources.

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10

Mix’n’Match marble shelves from World Market.
How pretty are these? And so on-trend with the mix of marble and brass. Would be pretty in a powder room …

Also from World Market, a super-chic table lamp! Hello … acrylic and brass … always a great combo!

I’m always on the hunt for interesting planters and vases. Especially this time of year, it’s nice to have a little greenery around. These planters from Wisteria are so unique. Alone on a console or pair the two sizes for a pretty centerpiece.

Also from Wisteria, I love the clean lines and foot detail on this rustic console table.

Natural fiber rugs are always a great addition to any home. I love that this new one from Serena & Lily has a little pizzaz to it with its gingham pattern. Would be fun in front of a kitchen sink.

New from Terrain, these iron votives are so pretty. The punched metal gives them an industrial flair.

I usually shop Currey & Company for lighting, but I sometimes forget they have great furniture pieces too. I love this tiered side table with its cast aluminum top.

Isn’t this the best Bin Pull from Rejuvenation?

I’m always excited to see the new collections from Loloi rugs. This rug from their Delphi Collection is so pretty. It’s muted colors would work in a variety of spaces.

Have you all started watching the new season of Fixer Upper? These wood grain chargers from Magnolia Market are so cute. A fun addition to the dining table.

I didn’t realize until I put all the pieces together in a collage how well they work together. Can you tell I am drawn to neutral pieces, metal and natural wood? I think after the holidays everyone is craving a little more simplicity – but things like these can still help warm up your space once all of the decorations are put away.

What changes will you make to your home this month?

My quest for romance with a kitchen rug …

July 20, 2011

Up until two nights ago, we did not have a rug under our kitchen table. I’ve gone back and forth on it for a long time. Of course, I thought it would look better with a rug, but since I spend inordinate amounts of time on my hands and knees wiping up what seems like half a meal after each breakfast/lunch/dinner, I have been afraid to put a rug down in fear of what it might look like after just a few meals.

Then I thought that perhaps if I found one that wasn’t too expensive, I wouldn’t feel so bad about it if it didn’t hold up for very long. Several fine candidates crossed my path.

First there was Mr. Nate Berkus Rug. It was love at first sight when I saw it on the set of his daytime talk show when it first aired. (Swoon.)

At the time, I didn’t even know that he was selling it on HSN.com. Sadly, by the time I figured it out, they were all sold out in the size I needed.

Now they are no longer available at all. (I go on periodically to check, but no such luck.)

With that in my head, I was attracted to other bold stripes. I love how Nate himself used a boldly patterned rug in his own Chicago pad.

So then along came Mr. Wisteria Rug. I loved the soft green color and the thin dhurrie-style. My heart fluttered when I saw it in the catalog. The price was right, but the size wasn’t. A 9 x 12. (I needed a 6 x 9.)

It’s been a while and I have searched around but nothing else made me swoon. Sure there where some handsome ones, but they may have been too fancy for my kitchen. I needed one that wasn’t afraid to get a little dirty. I found more stripes but not in the soft colors I was looking for.

Then maybe just a month ago I opened the latest Ballard catalog and …

Perfection. Suzane Kasler’s Wide Stripe Jute Rug. I loved the durability and texture of the jute. And, he had stripes to boot! The paprika-orange would tie in nicely with the rug and some of the pillows I have in my adjoining family room. And, there was even a 6×9. (Which, I discovered, are somewhat hard to come by.)

Ok, so with the start of summer, the weeks began to fly by. Finally, one day I had a free moment, sat down at my computer and pulled up the rug online with my credit card in hand. Choose color. Choose size. But wait … there in parenthesis next to 6×9 were the dreaded words I hate to see. NO LONGER AVAILABLE.

Ugh!

Surely this couldn’t be so! He was my perfect match! Right away I called Ballard just to make sure. Nope they were all gone. Sold out quickly. Won’t be making any more.

Really? Are you sure they won’t be making any more? I mean, if it was so popular, couldn’t they … pretty please … make some more?

Sorry. No more information.

Where to turn? Now that I had been thinking about that rug for several weeks, I couldn’t get it out of my mind. And while I had been unsure about getting a rug at all before, I was now determined that my little breakfast area was definitely in need of a rug.

Hmmm. Okay … so none of those other rugs were meant to be. Usually things happen for a reason. Maybe I just wasn’t supposed to get stripes. But jute … one of the things I loved about the Ballard rug was the natural jute. Maybe I should just look for a plain jute rug.

So I started looking again. But I was a little like Goldilocks … a 5×8 is too small. An 8×10 is too big. A 6×9 would be just right. But no one seemed to carry a 6×9.

When I run out of places to look, I often check on Overstock.com. It is hit or miss, but they have such a large inventory of, well, everything at such great prices so I figured it was worth a look.

And that’s where I found him. A beautiful 6×9 jute rug for under $200!

It was meant to be.

I didn’t want fringe (too hard to get crumbs out of) and I didn’t want binding. So it was perfect. The reviews were great too. Done.

So the rug arrived last Friday and sat all rolled up through the weekend since we were out of town. I was excited to get back and lay it down (after a thorough cleaning of the floor below the table) … but of course, as often happens … I was still feeling a little nervous that I had made the right decision. After all, it is not easy to send a rug back.

Back home, I was reading some of my favorite blogs and came across this one by Emily A. Clark all about finding the perfect rug for her family room. What did she decide on? Jute!

And in her post she mentioned how another of my favorite bloggers, Lauren Liess of Pure Style Home had influenced her decision with her post comparing all of the different kinds of natural rugs.

I clicked on over to Pure Style Home and was so pleased as I read Lauren’s words …

“1) MAINTENANCE: laughable. I took the WORST care ever of our jute rugs & they looked fine. They kind of eat your dirt. You can just vacuum them. I’ve had ours in the kitchen & even spilled salsa (I know, gross!) in ours and just wiped it with a rag & then blotted it with a wet rag to get the stain out.

2)PETS: Great for pets. Like I said, these things eat your dirt so they just sort of suck up the hair & you can vacuum it off.
3) SOFTNESS FACTOR: There are a lot of jute-chenille blends that are actually very soft but full jute isn’t as soft. Jute is thicker than sisal & seagrass and also softer, but still not super-soft unless it’s a blend. Ours is full jute and it is more like a foot-massager (which I love to walk on) but I wouldn’t recommend it for a kids’ play area or somewhere that you want to hang out on the floor.

4) STYLE FACTOR: I LOVE the look of jute. It’s so chunky & warm-looking and adds so much texture to a room. “

(excerpted from this post “Natural Rugs”: Seagrass, Sisal, Jute, Synthetic & Wool Rugs; The Low-Down)

A foot massager that eats dirt? Who could ask for anything more? I think these two ladies were sending me a sign.

So we rolled him out and yes ….

… he makes me swoon.

And two breakfasts, two lunches and one dinner later, he still looks good.

He might actually save my sanity because I can no longer see (i.e. obsess) over every little crumb that falls. Yes, I know they are still there, and I will still vacuum … just maybe not after every meal.

Birthday Present

May 31, 2011

Despite the lousy weather on Saturday and Sunday, the weekend was a great one. I couldn’t ask for anything more. Lot’s of great food, R&R, family, friends, two little toe-heads that crawled into my bed in the mornings, and then finally a nice hot summer-like day.

On Saturday night Dan took me out to oe of our favorite little french bistros, Bistrot Margot, in the city. (Let me highly reccommend the mussels and the chocolate chip bread pudding!)

And on Sunday night, he not only made a fantastic dinner for me, but also hung my new birthday present …

This was not as easy of a task as it first appeared to be. But with the gracious help of my father-in-law, who is most definitely our favorite go-to handyman, they got it up in time for dinner and to my great delight.

If you read my post on chandeliers, you may remember that I have been wanting to swap out the builder-installed chandelier in our breakfast area for sometime now. It just seemed to scream “Home Depot” to me. (Not that there’s anything wrong with the store.)

I have gone back and forth over several chandeliers for awhile, but finally decided on this one from Wisteria. This is, after all, a breaskfast room. I thought it called for more of a simple elegance than some of the bolder, more ornate choices I was looking at. I really love it’s vintage-lantern look. It is also a large, substantial size (perfect for high ceilings) but still manages to have a light and airy feel.

I also saw it featured in the home of another great designer, Brooke Giannetti. who’s blog, Velvet & Linen, I adore. That sealed the deal.

It definitely makes me swoon.

(Especially when being served a fabulous orechiette with sun-dried tomatoes, rapini and sausage made by my husband. Mmmm. Did he treat me right, or what?)

And these two other men in my life are pretty special too.

Thanks to my parents and everyone yesterday for making my birthday the perfect day.

More of our weekend adventures to come later this week … stay tuned.

Tray Chic

May 6, 2011

I love trays and find them hard to pass up … they are so useful and a great way to create little vignettes around the house. A group of objects sitting on a table can look kind of random, but put them all on a tray and voila … you’ve got an interesting tablescape.

via Houzz

design by boston interior designer Rachel Reider Interiors

design by new york interior designer Lexi Tallisman

Organized collecting contemporary living room

design by portland interior designer Garrison Hullinger Interior Design Inc.

design by boston interior designer Rachel Reider Interiors

I’m always on the lookout for brightly colored trays for that little pop they can bring to a room …

Isabella and Max Rooms

Michelles Master Bedroom. eclectic bedroom

Three Men and a Lady

Abbe Fenimore - Studio Ten 25 contemporary living room

design by dallas interior designer Abbe Fenimore Studio Ten 25

I like to keep a tray on both my kitchen and dining room tables and change out what’s on them … fresh flowers, a bowl of fruit, candles, a stack of decorative dishes, vintage tins, or seasonal items. The tables just seem bare with out them.

This tray and its contents always seem to brighten up a dark table …

Of course, a tray on an ottoman is nothng new … everyone needs a place to set their drinks. But with little kids, I’m still a little nervous to keep too much else on the tray for daily life … so I found a pretty tray that looks great even when empty.

Here are a few other favorite trays I’ve spotted lately …

Bold colors paired with a rustic element … these are between 70 and 80 years old and no two are alike:

Wisteria

These simple lacquer trays can work well with almost any style of decor … just pick your color.

West Elm

Faux croc ad nailhead trim … I love the little details on this one.

ZGallerie

Furbish Studio

Etsy

Of course, the BEST tray is one that contains breakfast in bed. I’m hoping for some on Sunday morning and a little source tells me it might be in my future. (Don’t you love how kids just cannot bear to keep a secret?)

What kind of pretty tray would you like your breakfast served on?

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the amazing moms out there and most importantly, my own … I love you Mom!

image via Simple Bites

Pretty Plumes

March 16, 2011

When I was outside the other day, something felt different. What was it ? It took me a moment before I realized … birds were chirping! There is something about that sound this time of year that is so wonderful and hopeful. Spring has got to be around the corner. I walked out of the bank yesterday and a little robin was on the sidewalk in front of me. He cocked his head as if to say hello and the color of his red breast was striking against the gray backdrop of the chilly, gloomy day.

If you’ve been reading my blog from the beginning, you may have caught on to the fact that I love birds. In my post on pillows, I talked about the bird pillows I had made from a favorite fabric. In my master bedroom post, I talked about the bird ottoman on my wish list. I’ve got a few other feathered friends who have settled in around my house too.

There’s just something about birds … there are so many different kinds and colors. They are kind of like people with all of their different personalities … the wise owl, the cocky rooster, the diva peacock, the hummingbird soccer mom who’s always buzzing forwards and backwards at top speed.

So in honor of Spring and birds everywhere, here are my favorite ways to incorporate some plumage into your home.

I love this master bedroom of Kirsten from 6th Street Design School …

And of course, if we’re going to talk pillows, there are so many cute bird pillows.

ChicDecor Pillows

Dwell Studio

Milk and Cookies Canada

The trio of bird prints I have stacked up the wall in our house always make me swoon. Here is more aviary artwork that I love.

Wisteria

Vintage Treasure Shop

I found these tapestries from Thailand on Overstock. I think they would be stunning, framed and hung on the wall.

Overstock bird tapestry

And this canvas from Ballard is so dreamy, don’t you think?

I have drooled over this lampshade from Anthropologie forever.

And how cute is this tea towel?

Anthropologie bird towel

Of course, I mentioned the Katie Ridder bird wallpaper that was featured in Sex and the City in an earlier post. Here is another one I like from Walnut Wallpaper.